CBS and TWC Push Negotiations Deadline Back to 8 p.m. ET

If CBS and Time Warner Cable aren't able to resolve their differences today, look on the bright side -- at least customers will get to see the evening news first.

Things must be progressing in the carriage crisis, as the sides agreed Monday to push the deadline from 5 p.m. ET to 8 p.m. -- indicating that a few hours may be the difference between a blackout and business-as-usual.

A blackout would affect 3.5 million homes -- roughly 29 percent of Time Warner Cable's video subscriptions in Texas, New York and Los Angeles. It would mark the first time that CBS has allowed its signal to go dark in a retransmission dispute.

This is the third time the deadline has been extended in this current negotiation. A previous agreement struck in 2009 by the two companies expired at the end of June.